Southern Lemon Pound Cake Recipe

Lemon pound cake on a round platter with a piece of cake cut out.

5 from 3 votes

Southern Lemon Pound Cake Recipe

This Southern Lemon Pound Cake Recipe is one to make over and over again! Enjoy with afternoon tea, for breakfast, brunch, or special occasions. It is lemony and bright, buttery, moist and so good! Don't miss the important tips in the recipe post!

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 5

Total Time1 35

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Sweet Bread

Cuisine: American, Southern

Servings: servings

Author: Precious

Ingredients

2 cups unsalted butter, softened Plus more for greasing
2 cups granulated sugar
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice from 1½ to 2 lemons
1 cup whole milk Or 2% milk
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons lemon zest Zest the lemon before juicing it
6 large eggs brought to room temperature

Optional Lemon Glaze

3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Butter and flour a 10-inch bundt pan and set aside.
Zest two or more lemons to get 2 tablespoons of lemon zest. Then squeeze out ¼ cup of lemon juice from the zested lemons.
Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit (180° C).
Add the ¼ cup of lemon juice to the 1 cup of milk and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together the room-temperature butter and granulated sugar until light in color and fluffy.
Add the lemon juice and milk mixture to the creamed butter and sugar and beat until just combined.
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and beat until just combined.
Add cracked eggs 2 at a time and beat each time until incorporated. Add the lemon zest and beat to combine.
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan making sure it is distributed evenly. Gently tap the pan to spread the batter evenly and level the top of the batter with a rubber spatula.
Put the bundt pan into the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour, 5 minutes, or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake (in 3 different spots) comes out clean. Loosely cover the cake with aluminum foil when it has been in the oven for 50 minutes to prevent over-browning.
When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then gently run a knife around the edges and turn the cake onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely for one hour.

Lemon Glaze

Add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 cup of icing sugar to a small mixing bowl. Mix until combine and a dripping consistency. Add more lemon juice if the mixture isn't dripping.
Drizzle the lemon glaze over the cooled cake.
Slice and serve this Southern Lemon Pound Cake warm or completely cooled topped with whipped cream or ice cream with some fresh berries on the side.

Notes

1. Lemon Zest: You get lemon zest by grating the back of the lemon. I love using a microplane zester for this. You could get out the lemon zest using any small grater you have on hand. Avoid grating the white part as that is bitter.

2. Storage: To store this cake let it cool completely then tightly wrap it with plastic wrap. Store at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the fridge for 1 week, and in the freezer for 3 months.

3. Halfing the recipe: You could cut all the ingredients in half and make one cake in a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan.

4. Two Loaf Pans: You could make this recipe in two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans instead of one bundt pan.

5. Recipe Update: This recipe was first posted on April 19, 2019. I have refreshed it with a slight tweak to reduce the number of eggs used and included even more lemony flavor by increasing the amount of lemon zest used! You'll love this updated and improved version!

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